Knowing before hand that it was a small-plates/tapa wine bar, I understood completely going in that its target strengths would be 1) small, but flavourful dishes; 2) unique and tasty drinks/cocktails; and 3) ambiance.
1) The dishes
Small? Understatement. Tiny is more accurate. $10 for two scallops seemed outrageous, even for a tapa/small-plates place. Granted, they were really tasty, sure. But the portion size was laughable for the four of us, since that meant we needed to order $20 of scallops in order for each of us to try one. Their bacon-wrapped dates were equally great, if not the favourite of the evening. However, they too came in pairs and required two orders that were over-priced. I've had fantastic bacon-wrapped dates in two of Victoria's other tapa/small-plates places, both were more reasonably priced. The pork cheek was very good, and probably the most reasonably priced of the dishes we got. It was the only dish that felt appropriate to its size/price ratio, and the added great taste was a plus. Finally, the "various grilled vegetables" dish turned out to be cauliflower.... just that.
tl;dr Surprisingly small dishes, even expecting that the dishes would be small. Unreasonable prices.
2) One of our party wasn't drinking, but the other three of us did. I asked the server which of two drinks was best and went with her recommendation. My partner ordered her own, and the third individual ordered from their underwhelming beer menu. My drink was arguably quite good. I was satisfied with it, and it was unique enough that I enjoyed it without complaint. My partner's drink was startlingly bitter, either because it was supposed to be that way or it simply wasn't a good recipe. The beer menu, as mentioned, was not craft, local, or exciting. Very poor beer menu for a craft-brew, bread and butter town. He later ordered a glass of wine that he shrugged off without fanfare. I probably would have been ready for another drink if the service hadn't have been so slow....
tl;dr 1/2 cocktails were good, poor beer selection. Craft-brew lovers seek elsewhere
3) Wow. Five small dishes and three drinks took two full hours. I was actually surprised by how slow everything was. And even more surprising was that there were three different people checking in on us at odd times (The second person who asked us how everything tasted before we even got the food threw us for a loop. It was the same person who told us the last of our five dishes was coming as she was clearing the table of our napkins and table water...). As mentioned above, I would probably have ordered a second drink, but it took so long to get the first drink ordered and in my hands, plus the food, that I was put off and just wanted out.
The second key thing for ambiance is music. First half of our time there seemed appropriate. Then they started playing reggaeton. No idea how Mexican/Puerto Rican night-club music fits into a lounge/wine-bar type atmosphere. Very strange choice.
tl;dr Startlingly slow. Odd music choice. Unusual server behaviour.
In the end, I will not be returning. The food had something going for it. But not in that portion size, and not in that price. Drinks were adequate, perhaps even good, but the poor ambiance and service didn't entice me to stay around to find out. If you're looking for good tapas, look elsewhere Victoria has several options for you. read more